Darkness.

And silence.

Kizami felt as if he was floating.

Then the pain hit. A dull throbbing pain in the back of his head. He groaned.

"Sometimes it goes away."

He recognized that voice, but he was far too groggy to place it. "Five more minutes…" he groaned. His alarm hadn't gone off. There was still time before school...

Oh.

"You shouldn't stand there with your eyes closed. Someone much nastier is bound to come around."

Kizami opened his eyes.

Kurosaki was standing not two feet away.

Smiling.

The smile that would make his insides melt; not that he would admit it.

"You're dead." Very eloquent, Kizami. Good job.

"So are you."

"What?!"

"Yup." That damned smile. "Yoshikazu clocked you on the noggin."

That explained the headache. "When?"

"Just now."

Kizami didn't know how to respond to that, so he ignored it. "What did you mean before?" He asked.

"About you dying?" Kurosaki questioned.

"Before that."

"Oh! The pain. Yeah, sometimes it goes away." Kurosaki was smiling again.

"How?"

The other student rocked backwards on his heels and stared at the ceiling. "I don't know. I've talked to a couple other people and only one girl seems to have a plausible theory. Of course, not many people are willing to talk, but…"

Kizami narrowed his eyes as he waited for his friend to finish- it was his trademark look.

"She thinks that if a person forgives whoever killed them, the pain goes away. I mean, we're still stuck here, but at least we don't need painkillers right?"

"…"

Kizami didn't know how to respond to that, either. Then there was this feeling… guilt, maybe? He had killed his best friend. And it was a rather painful way to die. Time to switch subjects.

"…Sucky weather we're having." Idiot.

"…Maybe he hit you harder than I thought." Kurosaki said, half-giggling, half-concerned.

They were quiet for a minute; Kizami was berating his new-found status as Captain Obvious, and Kurosaki was wondering if ghosts could even get brain damage. He was pretty worried about his friend.

Kizami thought it was time for another subject switch. "So… What do you do for fun around here?"

Kurosaki paused for a moment. "The nastier ones pick someone to torment… I… haven't found anything…" Kurosaki said, looking at the ground and kicking at the air.

Kizami blinked. Why was Kurosaki acting so shy? He stayed quiet for a long minute. The awkward silence was almost agonizing. Time to change the subject.

"So… how about this weather, huh?"

"You already used that one." Kurosaki giggled.

"…"

Kurosaki grinned. "You are adorable."

That was unexpected.

Kurosaki laughed. "I missed you."

The room and taken a different tone. It was softer, but more serious.

This… pain. It wasn't his head. Kizami felt his chest coldly burn. It was crippling. He had never been good with emotions. Perhaps this was remorse? He'd heard about this. The program on TV he watched last Tuesday said that you should apologize if you felt this way. "Kurosaki, I-"

"Don't sweat it!" Kurosaki was smiling again. "It's water under the bridge."

"I-" Kizami couldn't figure out the words. This foreign sensation was overpowering. What was this feeling?

"I forgive you." Kurosaki said quietly.

"Kurosaki… I don't understand. You should be furious with me." Kizami sighed, balling his hands into fists.

The other spirit stepped closer. "Kizami... friends fight all the time. They always forgive each other in the end."

"We didn't have a 'fight'! I killed you, damn it!" Kizami yelled, eyes starting to brim with tears. What was going on? As these thoughts swirled through his mind, Kizami realized that Kurosaki had slowly inched his way over to him. He was so close now.

"I forgive you." Kurosaki took Kizami's face in his hands and looked up at him, wiping away a tear that had managed to escape Kizami's eye.

There was something tightening in his chest as Kizami tilted his head down. The burning warmed in his chest.

He found himself pulling closer to Kurosaki. As their lips met, the burning feeling exploded into a fire.

Kizami tried to follow as his friend pulled away. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Kizami whispered, bangs hiding his watery eyes as he squeezed them shut.

"Kizami."

When he opened his eyes, Kurosaki was smiling.

"I forgive you."